Fintelo : Online Solution

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland has warned teachers to exercise caution when interacting with their students on social networking websites such as Facebook.

Source: www.herald.ie

By: Claire Murphy

Schoolchildren are sending requests to their teachers to be linked up as their ‘friend’ on social networking sites.

A number of teachers have been asked to become “Facebook friends” or “Bebo buddies” by their students.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) has advised teachers to be cautious in this regard.

ASTI’s Gemma Tuffy said: “Our advice would apply to any form of technology, whether it was texting, emailing, being in a chat room or social networking site — it’s really important to maintain a professional relationship that would be consistent with relations in a classroom.”

Phenomenon

Social networking sites such as Facebook have grown in popularity among Irish people in the last few years. The worldwide phenomenon has more than 200 million active users and anyone aged 13 and over may join.

But now trainee teachers have found themselves in the same virtual social sphere as students in these online sites.

ASTI representative Gemma said that the Association has received a number of queries about to the appropriateness of sending texts to students.

And she said that the association is aware that as technology expands, they anticipate receiving more requests for advice on what to do in these situations.

Gemma said: “Some teachers have asked us if it was all right to text students if they were taking a group on extra-curricular activities such as a school trip,” she said. “That is perfectly fine and reasonable.”

Problem

But she noted that if the issue is becoming a problem, teachers should consider referring the issue back to the school. Gemma said: “Every school would have an IT policy.”

If teachers are constantly receiving ‘friend’ requests, they could take it back to the school and refer to the ‘netiquette’. This would cover communication with students online.”

There is no definite set of rules relating to virtual engagement between teachers and students. Many schools block access to social networking sites, but they may not have policies addressing after-hours use.

Gemma said: “It might be necessary for teachers to talk with students if they had, for example, a social networking project.”

“But it is important to keep a personal facebook page separate from any that the class might establish for a school project.”